It was a glorious late afternoon along the Mississippi River in South St Paul today. The water was calm, the temperature was comfortable and the low clear sunlight made even the mallards look exotic. I looked for the long-tailed duck that was here 3 weeks ago, but did not find it. I saw and heard a number of brightly marked male goldeneyes throwing back their heads and doing their courting call, what the book describes as a “harsh nasal double note” but I’d say they sounded more romantic (especially when the trains didn’t drown them out) . Further down the river, two bald eagles swooped down repeatedly, trying to catch a lone mallard, but whenever those talons came close, the mallard dove under with a splash.
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